Mounting for neon tubes and the like



, S. C. MILLER MO'LiNTING FOR NEON TUBES AND THE LIKE May 8, 1945.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 27, 1939 INVENTOR Samael (Didi/[Jar /4ATTORNEY y 1945- s. c. MILLER 2,375,484

MOUNTING FOR NEON TUBES AND THE LIKE Original Filed Dec. 27, 1939 2 Sheets-Shed 2 INVENTOR Sumac! (QM- 1101 ATTORNEY of. another-tuber Patented May 8, 1945 p l v originalapplicationDecemben'z'l, 1939,S er ialNo .f I

. A 311,078. vDivided: and this an n 1943, Serial No'. 488,734

gaseous dischargextubes; and more particularly it. relates to: a mounting .for such tubes. @HMore specifically it relates t'o'such tubeslhaving cupshaped electrodes of 1 the type described in my PatentsNos. 2,271,657 and. l-2,271,658'Of February 3, :194 2, and to means for receiving electrodes of thisatype and thBrebytozmountthetubesuch as on a display panel or the like and to establish electrical connection of" the electrode. thereof, such as to asource'of current or totherzelectrode This application is aidivision of m'y. application Serial No; 311978, filedDecember 27,1939, now Patent:No; 2,326,792. a I

For the. purpose of wfsimplifying the terminology thE'CGXPIBSSiOIIZ neon-tube. has been used throughout :1 the specificationas I equivalent to luminous gaseous discharge tube', and it is therefore to be :understood that when I use the term neon tubefl'l'do not intend to're strict my self toluminousgaseous discharge tubes in which the gaseous conducting medium is neon; but that this term isintended to includetubs containing gases other-"than neon andalsogaseous conducting media in combination withrother subs'tances,

uch 'm r ndits'vap r; r.

Among the objects" 'of'my, inventionfis the pro vision'of -means for mounting neon tubes that is effective; simple andeconomical; and thatsii'n-v plifies the operation bf'lm'ounting' and installing: neontub j j 1 1 I 1 It isf'ffirther among the. objects. of my "inven-f, tion to, provide afsimple, effective and inexp'en' sive housing adapted .tore'ceive thenelectrodes of ne ontubesf where these are o'f the cup-shaped type described in my aforementioned zcopending; applicatigns and effectively to establish electrical connection thereof suchas to a source of current or: the-electrodes-ofother neon ,tubes.,

Among the objects of my invention are further the-provision in a housing for new tubes of, an improved contact arrangement for introducing electric currentdntoH-the tube, and the provision oftan improved arrangement whereby a neon tube will be securely held in;the housing. To attain these objects and-such further objects ;as may appear herein orgbe hereinafter pointed out, I make reference to the accompany ing drawings, forming aparthereof; in which:

Figure 1 isafragmentary' plan viewof a neon tube installation using a housing-in accordance with my inven'tion'y f Figure2is af perspective view-o'f one form of lication May 27,

housing used in theinstallation'of Figurez; and showing a neon tubein place-ingthe housing;

Figure 13.1 is, a longitudinal sectional -.view throughtthhe housing of Figure 2 showing two neon tubesin place.therein; .1 l Figured isga transverse sectional view through a :pair, of housingssuch asshown in Figure 2, mounted: on, a central ,lsupport positioned in a trough-like reflecting shield as in the installation of Figure 1, and showing neon tubes in iplace therein; .3 f WFigure; 5. isfa. perspective View of .a housing adapted for .usealternatively to that of Figure 2; niFigure .6 is afragmentaryend view on alarger scaleof-thehousing ofFigure.5; .r. :rFigure .7. istalfragmentary longitudinal sectional view on a larger scale of the housing "of Figure'5;;- t l Figure .8 is a fragmentary perspective view on a largeriscalelof. the body of the housing of Fig-' met-u v l lFigure 91is a perspectiveiview of another housing adapted for; use alternatively to the housing of" 2,'the body of the housing only being shown;- w a y t Figure'lo is a fragmentary end view of the housing of Figure 9, showing 'a tube inpIace" thereon;

'-' Figure 11 is aviewof'the means for fastening the tubes to the housingproper; "and illustrating itsadaptability t'o vari'ous sizesro'f tubesi butthey differ therefrom in being arranged for mounting on laterally positioned panelsor brack etsinstead of on panels or backings below their bases. {They further differ from the forms heretoforede'scribed in ltheflmanner of fastening the neon tubes'f ih p1acein thehousings as will be fully explained' hereinafter. It may-further be observed that they are-adapted for use in other installations thanthat ofFi'gureL For example uv they mightbe used' with tubes hav'mg bent ter- 'minals, where it isdesired to mount them closely adjacent to a-p'anel, asinmy parent application ings are mounted'on both sides of vertical platesaforementioned,

The fragmentary eon tube installation of Fi ure 1 comprises tubes 2010, 201-, 202,203,204, s, 20 6, 201,208,209, 210,211, 212, 213,214 and 2I5,

w arranged irii arallelrows and .thecQrnen tubes 204, 205, '2I0iand, 2H 1being"angled., fTIhe tubesare connected to each other and to'the transformer 2 I 5, which serves to energize the tubes, byhousings 2l6, 2ll, 2l8, H9, 220,. 221-, 222, 223; 224, 225, 226,221, 228, 229 and .frheseihims 0r brackets 23l, 232, 233, 234 and 12 -whioh are.

carried ina reflecting trough having bottom'walls' 236. and substantiallyvertical walls 230 isFigsh 1 and 4) andwhich is mounted'on thewallsltl of a room or other structure, and serve to shield I the-installation fromthe view of an observer and to reflect the light against the upper parts of the walls 238 the ceiling, where the installation is unountedbelow the ceiling 2 Theprinciples' of {construction of 2, 3xand 4, thelnrst two figures showing the nous 'ing..."v22i0,u,awhile. Figure .4 is nustranveinr sih mouziting of two housings 22:12am 221 on'asingle;

bracket. v I

Referring now'to Figures 2 and 3, the housing I 220 be seen toeomprisea ho11ow- -body-:239

opensat thetopand having'a numbernf concave seats 2&0 "formedjinits upper .nm, .each adapted for the seating thereonjofa 'glass ne on. tuhe -24 l,

theiangulariyhent terminalportion 242 of which the housi gs y of the installation as Figure 1 will be understood from a description ofgthe-housings 220 and 221 which are illustrated ingreater detail in Figures extends. mto'th'e. M51239. The bodyihas I ient capacity to're ceive the terminal portionsgoi' a pairzof neon tubes, and it will be observed due fto .the number and arrangement of the :seats 7 .240 the neon tubes are. adapted to assume various positional relations to each nth-er. and to thehous- For1example, inFigi, thetubes areshown. mounted. endto end. relation :and inparallel spaced relation. However, all the relative :positionsshown-inFigure, 1 oflmyparent application,

1. 911 as. reetangular; bends, are also 'attainabie.

with the single form of housing shown inlfiguiev "ztwhe ie s F su ;my'parent applica on rala. on. ia e.reaui ed-'.,...-;

b? 119133.2 3. is ,fuither-fsl'iown the type} shown n y. aiorementio ed \Paterrts;

I asofi a asity.toawiunmedfieneen. u e ectrodes of bodylheneath each seat 240 is. an opening.- 243 throughwh phm y be. Pas i le-m lmbejn such a wire 244- *b-ygmeans of, which {a neon fl eiie be held as i i hi e seat, E 1: thi

, purpose the wire 244 is shown looped abfll' t the.

i 1 41' in menab e er r f r a an n f i u t Wi .2 is dcub ed overth 261 passing through-openings208 in the walis of the: body aria headed Over the ZGI It "will tion serves to efiect electrical connection between I a pair, of neon tubes. For this purpose'its base coils may-have a friction fit with the'b'ottom of the body 239, as 'alreadv'described in :c'onnection with the spring I'll of that application.

The housing 22! shown in Figure 4 is identical with the, housing 220 also; shown insaiii figure.

p thaft rflson rits parts as shown in l -igure 4, I have be'nsim'ilar'ly numbered,'with the numerals 0, prirned., I

It may'again be observed that the seats 2400f thisftypeioithousing areso arranged a to adapt I I :itior use in connecting tubes in end-to-end, parallel oi' -angular relationship,which of course is of great"advantage in reducing the number of terns thatgaauealer m" manufacturer must stock. 'lh g hzousingsfin and '224 of Figure -1 serve r'espeetlveiy to connect the electric wires 250 and 251. tofltheineon tubes201 and 209. They. aresimimitt" uihousmgs 220 just described, but with modifications. .gwithout going-into the idetails of ihe-mod'xifieatinnimthe construetion pfthe' hous ing -lmprmcessary t tefteetflsuoh nonneotionit I I mawbesstated'zthat thetwih smaisprmg-mmay I be made withnniyone spiraispriu'g, and instead I of; ,therseeond spiral spring amnnecwr like the conneotordm .piEigwr-e 14 oimyparentapplication .mayfbei used .foriatiachin-g lithe leieeixic wire" stead of, heingseparate. therefrom and .unformed rior totheimountingpflthe. tube,;as:in the forms hereinflebfliie'deseliibedma...

iboiiy sofzathe itiwi gibg .obsetvedthat itis, hollow-am open atathe 551... these at the. ends. and. atpne. Side; 0b stvshqueve h yemishtaalsebemoa tione d I II I .jace'rit each end s Th seus, wnv at the igh't ort1o will *be lain'd, and with-anbpenlooppoition are spring clips ciated with each end seat 20] and theseare'se curegrto'oppositesides of the'wallof th'hbdy 2'60 in*any-suitab ie orpreierred manner; as'iby rivets" be understoodthatin order toinsert-a tubefsuchf as use, theis forced fbetween theend-por tions' 289 and 210 '-'-of I the clips '15 ,,-}a ainst the: resilient resistanceot the i1 latter and isheld' tube, and its-free ends .arethenbrpught through 'an .0pening 243, biou ht up onpppositesiaes of.

the tubeandgthentwisted. together,-as atf24,5,; toj

. Lugs; 246 are p ov d d. t ne side 10:, thebody 3.9 b m ansoi iwh h t m be iajst n tonabracket 233 as forexample ihy bolts-2U passing inesrn elyz-zn and 2.-

A doubes ra 5 r 24 sir i rl ith inking,

filii imsll an 1 ot. m p ren e p iqae;

t ough thefopposed-lugs 240 oi ja;,pair;of hous+ ,I

- hmughp en e 24 the lu nd th o h complementary openings in the-brackets 23.3. fi re. 4. isi sle. b 24,! i shownipassin thereby.. .1 up," The resulting ends':of-.tthe. abocLvJZBO, fit willv be understood.

they. may. she" and; they, are; intendedito be used where -required 'qr.zdesired,on' thesidessa's well. It is further to be v noted .that the fastening {241 of. the preceding embodiment inaygbeliised instead oLtheclips 263. .where the} iatterare not-available,

I 25 times.movidedwi hiconcaveseats:

eta WiiheJ eQJfl rattaching purposes, as,

wonstruction' permits ready in-y I .sertion orirenmvair of they tubes fii'without alter- .inglthehousingin-any'way; ,Ohvibus'iw the Jciips Ni themselves may I madeiremovab'leg, as} for u'example by using bolts. 'inswadofftherivetsfiih;

. and 11.

. 2,375,484 theconstruction of the body ZBII-bein'g adapted therefor. Lugs 2H are'provided on the body 260 for attachmentpurposes'. 8

A second alternative-form for use-with the installation of Figure 1 is-shown in Figures 9,- 10

" In thisform, the hollow body portion 28|l,'similar to the body 260;isprovi'ded with dished tubereceiving seats '28! along its rim. Brackets-282; projecting outwardly from'thebocly 280; are posi tioned one below each seat 28! ,and each bracket has two spaced holes 283 -therein.- Aneon tube 284-is adapted to seat on 'aseat 28! and may be held thereon by a resilient'clip 285','-having' two legs 286 and 281, adapted for insertion into the holes 283, and provided-in theillustrated form with a looped bight portion. i

In order to increase the holding powerofthe clips and lessen the chances of their accidental disengagement, the ends 289 and 290 of the legs 286 and 287 may be bent laterally outward so as to producea shoulder effect that will increase the resistance to withdrawal of the legs from the holes.

In Figure 11 I have illustrated the adaptability of this construction for use with neon tubes of different diameters which areindicated by the dot and dash circles 284' and 284". Obviously, the clip 285 is adaptable, with suitable manipulation, to clamp either of them in place.

The body 288 is also provided with suitable at taching lugs 29 l It will be observed that common to the various embodiments described and illustrated in Figures 1, to 11, there is provided in an insulating housing for the purposes described, a seat for locating the neon tube, avoiding the need for the employment of the usual elevation posts for such illuminants, to bind and to mount the same to some frame, so that the housing not'only displaces these usual contrivances, but more effectively gains compactness and eliminates light obscurations and minimizes interference with the re-;

flective surface in association With which the neon tubes are mounted. It will thus be observed that I have provided a housing adapted for use with neon tubes having electrodes such as described in my aforementioned Patents Nos. 2,2'Z1,657 and 2,271,658, and that is simple, effective and economical.

While these improved housings are particularly the manner of their use, it is to beunderstood that my invention may be embodied in many other forms, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit thereof, and that the disclosure herein is by way of illustration merely and is not to be interpreted in a limiting sense, and that I do not limit myself other than as called for by the, language of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1 "1r A 'tvvin electrode receptacle for-tubular illuminants"comprising an elongated hollow body adapted -'=to receive therectangularly "disposed electrode end of' the illuminant through an opening defining-arimfor-said body, a bracket at the side-of the body having a basein a plane substam tiallyparallelto the axialline of said body, seats for the side portions ofsaid illuminants formed in the said rim the" seats lying in a plane at substantially right 'angle'sto theplane-of said bracket whereby said tube positioned in said seat is maintainedilat afixedangle in relation to the plane of -the'base'ofsaid bracket. 1 I 1 v '2Z A twin'electrode receptacle for tubular il1u-- minants comprising an elongated hollow body of insulating material adapted to receive pairs of the rectangularly disposed electrode ends of the tubular. illuminants through an opening defining a'rim', a bracket-at the side of. the body-and seats for the sideportions ofsaid illuminants comprising recesses in the said rim in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of said bracket whereby spaced illuminants may be maintained in predetermined angular relationship to said bracket. i

'3. A twin electrode receptacle for tubular illuminants comprising an elongated hollow body of insulating material adapted to receive the rectangularly disposed electrode ends of contiguous illuminants through an opening in said body defining a rim portion, a bracket at the side of said body, seats for the side portions of said illuminants formed in the saidrim by recessing said rim in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of said bracket thereby to hold said illuminants in a fixed angle in relation to said bracket and whereby pairs of said receptacles may have their bases united to arrange a 'plurality of said illuminants in parallelism.

4. A twin electrode receptacle for pairs of tubular illuminants comprising an elongated body adapted to receive the rectangularly disposed electrode end of the tubular illuminant through an opening defining a rim, a bracket at the side of the body and seats for the side portions of said illuminant formed in the said rim in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of said bracket to dispose the main body of said illuminants in fixed relation to an electrode contact within said body. and anchoring means for fastening elements adjacent said seat on said rim whereby to hold said illuminants in fixed relation to the base of said bracket. f

5. A twin electrode receptacle for receiving the rectangularly disposed electrode terminals of pairs of neon tubes comprising ahollow body open at one sideand providing a rim formed with a plurality of seats conforming to said tube cone tour, a bracket at the side of the body and fastening means adjacent each of said seats adapted to hold one of said tubes in said seats.

6. In an indirect lighting neon tube installation, the combination comprising twin electrode -recepta.cles having mounting means thereon for the neon tubes arranged to receive in mounted relationship therefrom the rectangularly disposed electrode ends of the tubes, said receptacle being formed with brackets having bases in parallelism 'with the axial line through said brackets, pairs of said receptacles being joined to each other and to supporting means therefor to dispose said neon tubes in parallelism and in fixed relation to said brackets.

7. A twin electrode receptacle forming the inopen on {one side defining a. rim portion; seats formedinxsaid portion at right angles to the;

axial line through said, body whereby a. tube'having an electrode terminal-Lat right angles, to the,

main-body of, the'tube may be supported within; I said reeeptacle and engaging portions for ifastenin-g elements formed in said body' adjacent said; seats arranged to cooperatewitlr fastening ele I merits to hold said tubes in the said' seats. v

8.-;A twin electrode receptacle iorneon tube? illumixt'ninttsarrangedv to receive a rectamgularly disposed branch defining the electrode terminal; of said-tubes, saidreceptacle comprising-a hollow body open-at the top and adapted to receive the} terminal portion of said tube, axially concavei seatsviornied-in the rim of said body, adapted to sealtthe wall of the. tube in (fixed relation to the e axial portion of said receptacle and engaging portionsifor fastening/elements formed in the;

body of said receptacle adapted, to cooperate with fastening-elements to hold said tube in said sea-t,

said elements comprising substantial U-vshaped resilient lcl-ips arranged to receive the neon tube in t emep n thereo Y a o .7 9. A twin electrode receptacle for neonxtubes comprising .a hollow .body open at one end defining-a rim portion adapted to receive within it the reotangularly disposed electrode terminal oi the neon tu-be, :abraclaet substantially at right angles to said rim portion, recesses-on the rim forming v V seats i-for the neon tubes, engaging portions 501' fastening elements formed. in the, body .:of- .:said

' receptacle adjacent said recesses and fastening elements engaging said portionsadapted to hold said tubes within said zseatsyand comprising .resiliently directed U-sha-ped clips arranged to conform to tubes of various-dimensions; a v

SAMUEL c. MILLER: 

